Artist weaves a cathedral from excess willow tree saplings

November 9th, 2012 By

Willow, which is actually considered a weed in the Australian state of Victoria, has a heavy leaf fall, which often reduces water quality ultimately affecting the habitat of fish and local wildlife. This is the reason the government here spends about 2 million AUD to manage the wild growth of willow. Artist Patrick Dougherty has come up with an innovative way to reuse all these excess willow tree saplings and sticks by weaving them to form architectural monuments.

The artist has come up with his “Stickwork” series, where he’s created a monument by weaving about 10 tons of willow tree branches. Looking like a cathedral, the architecture sits in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Christened the “Ballroom”, the structure takes inspiration from the architecture of nearby Flinders Street Station and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The structure took three weeks to complete where the artist bent each piece of wood and wove them into a formation using nothing more than gloves and a pair of secateurs.